Well work has been going fairly badly lately. My service writer quit, so I am writerless, which sucks. When he left my hours DROPPED like a rock. I went from averaging 40-45, to mid 20s-30... Which I had just gotten to making 40-45 long enough that I was accustomed to it. So it sucks. They fired my team leader, and my only other fellow teammate quit. So I am officially the only Mitsubishi Technician left. We just finally got a new Service Manager in, and he looks like hes in his 60s(everyone calls him Pappy), and hes a real asshole already. We all had individual meetings with him, in my meeting I requested more money, being as I'm the only Mitsu tech left and all the warranty work now falls on my shoulders. Even if someone else does it, I constantly have to help them and answer questions because they don't know Mitsus. He brushed that off, he wrote it down but haven't heard a word about it in the week and a half since I asked for more cash.

Anyway, heres what has REALLY prompted me to consider finally leaving. I was working today, 8-4. We ran out of work at noon. So I pulled in my tattoo artist's Mustang. I tried to get it in after hours all week, but was never able to. She had a clutch cable that was literally holding on by a few strands of cable and a few times lately the car has barely run for her. So I went to replace the cable and diag the running issue. Well one of the parts guys asks me to swap the studded snow tires off of his car(required to be off by April 2nd by the law), so I did that as well. I was balancing the last tire, when Pappy walks into the tire area.... ****... He calls me on the Mustang being in my bay... ****... Then he calls me on the tires for the Parts guy... **** ****?? So I was caught doing 2 side jobs on company time, obviouslly a no no.

I do have one job hanging, a torque converter R&R on a F150. I spent 6 hours on Friday pulling the damn transmission out, and I am only getting paid 5.4 hours for the entire job. So needless to say I was disgusted and wanted nothing to do with the damn job today. He wanted the job in this months numbers since it was a cash job that could have made things look better. So he was all around angry.

He asked me what I'd do if I were him? I just responded that I didn't know(while thinking, "Fire my ass"). He was yelling in my face, which as a learned resposne from my Dad, I REALLY don't do well with. I kind of get a very angry, laughing attitude when people do that. I am the guy that will laugh in your face when you get angry, not a great way to be, but it is me. I held back the laughter and the cursing him out in return, while he was cursing me out. So he said "Well I will be here the rest of the day, you let me know what the **** you think I should do before you leave!". So I worked on the trans job and he came out to check constantly. I called my Mom(career counselor) and thought about what I should do. I decided to tell him "If I were you, I'd fire me, but I will save you the time and just resign now. After the torque converter is done, I'm out of here.". But when the end of the day came around, he wasn't anywhere near me, and the Writer on duty told me to leave and kept trying to keep me from going and talking to the guy. So now I have until Monday to think about things.

The reason I want to quit rather than be fired, is this is my first job in this business and I've had a year there now. I don't want to go applying other places and have to explain why I was fired. I'd much rather be able to say, "Work was slow, Management was really making things difficult, and my Dad really needed a hand with his business at the moment, so I quit to look for a new job and work with Dad". Which is exactly what I will do if I quit. Go work for Dad while I look for a new job.

I was definetally doing something wrong, and I got caught, shame on me. But I'm trying to decide if I should just sever the head of this thing or what? I could go and say, "look this is my first official breaking of the rules, write me up for it and it won't happen again." But then I still work in a ****ty enviroment and now the Manager hates me even more than he did. Hes been treating me like a black sheep since he started. He can't speak to me without looking down at the tattoos on my arm every 5 seconds.

However, if I get fired, I have a chance of collecting unemployment(and working for Dad would be cash). And at the moment, our dealership has a really BAD reputation in the area. Everyone around knows we suck to work for, are dead, and go through people like crazy. So getting fired may not hurt me as bad as I think it will.

Thoughts? And before anyone says it, yes I know I suck taking 6 hours to pull a trans on a freaking F150. I knew going in I was going to screw the pooch on that job, and here I am, ****ed. First one I've done and everything I do ends up hurting me more and more on the damn job, oh well, I know for the future.

And you know the funniest part, this is the first time I really blatantly did side work while on company time. I have done a TON of side work in that place, but I always wait until the end of my scheduled day and clock out, or come in on a Saturday I'm not scheduled to work... Ha.

Since you are the only service tech left, they might just "give you a talking too", or write you up. I'm the only one at work that knows whats going on also, and same with my last job. I got canned from the last job, and it is hard to explain.

The new job I've been at for a year now. I've set up every machine that came into the building, talked with every "expert" that has come in. They say I'm the only Maint. tech. Even though there is 5 other guys in Maint. So I get away with alot.

It's a good thing to, since I must have the same adittude as you. The H.R. fruitcake said he was going to fire me (after I told him off), and I just laughed at him. The best part was my boss just looked at him, laughted, and said "you would be gone before Trevor was". I give them my all, and they know it. It's nice that they do, never had that before. They let me do any gov. jobbs I want if I'm not busy.

I would look for a new job, before you left this one. I know alot of places don't like to see gaps between your jobs. They don't always like to see: tech, whatever, tech. But like to see tech, to tech.

Well first of all (as a manager/writer/mechanic myself), I would have told them I was not pulling a ford trans for less that 8 hours! Thats just a crap low estimate!. We have a rule at our dealership that you can work on another car after you clock out as long as we write a repiar order on it. Just incase the car falls on you your still covered. If your really not happy then let them fire you.....As a manager hiring new people I know that bosses can be dicks and unless I call several places and they all say your the dick then I worry....I say get the unemployment and help Dad with the side cash if you really dont like it there and your hours are sucking...

Have you ever considered being a mechanic in a different field. Such as diesel/heavy equipment, lot's more money and hours and no real public to deal with..........

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I really enjoy light duty gas engine diag and work. Its where my heart is when it comes to the service stuff. Diesels are cool and I find them interesting, but at the moment I just don't think I can get into them enoug to work on them day in and day out. A buddy of mine just mentioned a job, doing heavy truck service, to me this evening. Making quite a bit better money than I am now. But I'd have to go to Third shift, which sucks in my mind, but would help me save money from going out at all. Ehh I need to think about it.

I've come so close to quitting so many times from this place cause of their crap, and now that I realize I really do enjoy what I've been doing, they are making it all together difficult on me.

I'm more angry at myself over the side jobs thing than I am them. I just really don't take kindly to someone screaming in my face like that. The only person I can think of in a long time that has done that is my Dad, and I learned to stick up to him long ago. It was really hard not to lay into the Manager when he started doing it to me.

I would hang in there long enough to get fired or layed off. Treat the manager just like he treats you. Laugh at him.. Just dont hit him.. you might kill the old fart and go to jail. You dont have to be nice to him just dont be insubordinate. Eventually he will get mad and may fire you. Then You should be able to collect unemployment.
You said your dealership has a high trunover and it looks to me like the new manager is cleaning house.
It sounds like the new manager is a total jerk. Even if you were still working there and looking for another job. He may give you a bad reference Just to screw with you.
I dont think it will look bad for future jobs if you are fired from the one you have. All you have to tell future employers is thet you got caught up in the new managers housecleaning and was layed off.. They will understand and see you were employed there quite a while. Its not like you worked there 2 weeks and were fired. your longevity at a job is more important than the reason employment was terminated.
IMO Quitting looks worse on your record than being fired or layed off. Unless you quit and go to work for another place right away. When I look over peoples job apps. if i see quit too many times under the "reason for leaving" It raises a big red flag to me.
In the mean time just keep your eyes open for better employment.

see the biggest issue is, I don't have time to look for a job while I am working where I am now. They treat us like salary employees even though we are FlatRate technicians. We get paid for what we do, if we don't work, it hurts us more than them, yet they ride our asses all the time. We are required to be there from 8-4:30, whether the work stops at 10 or not.

If we complain about not making enough hours, they tell us to work more hours(like actual hours in the day). They encourage thievery. One guy comes in when he isn't scheduled to work and takes work. Ethically it isn't cool, but they encourage it. I really think I am just going to quit. However little I want to work with Dad, I need the ability to just take a day and look for a job or go on interviews when I want.

Don't you get sick days or vacation? Hell, tell them you have an appointment, and go look for a job. If they ask, tell them its for personal reasons.

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Took a sick day to go job hunting 2 weeks ago. Only get 2, and 1 week of vacation. Vacation is required to be scheduled 3 months out... Granted we do not usually do that, but thats another stupid rule they have.

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